A Pirate Adventure
by Winthrop
Summary: A rebellious orphan girl makes a risky deal with a famous pirate...
1. The Escape

Disclaimer: Some of these are not my characters/places, they are Disney¹s. All the rest are mine.  
  
I remember the day that I first laid eyes on her. She wasn¹t very big at all, both in height and weight. Her shiny mahogany hair was pulled back into a tight knot at the nape of her neck. A blue, white, and green checkered tie was hanging loosely around her starched white collar. The girl¹s pleated skirt, the same color as the tie, was softly blowing in the sea wind. Her bare legs rippled with cold as goose bumps started to sprinkle her tan knees. The girl¹s black shoes were scuffed and worn, looking as though they came through a war and back again. She looked angry as she strolled along the worn wooden dock muttering to herself. The repressed rage showed plainly on her sculptured face. As she got closer to me, I could hear some of her muttered words, ³They won¹t get away with this! The next time I will tell her what I _really _think of her! And I¹ll have more to say after that too!²  
What she was doing out on the docks when she was supposed to be in school was what really puzzled me. As she walked past, she gave me a glance that could have melted a candle right where it stood. Her small body was so filled with rage that it shook with every word she spoke. She passed out of sight still muttering to herself. By that time Captain Jack Sparrow saw that I wasn¹t working. ³Bill! Get back to work! No time for standing there! Get moving! We have to be out by noon or they¹ll see us! I quickly pulled on the sail rope. After we were ready to leave, we were all called into a meeting by the Captain. ³Now men, we get to plunder!² he said with a dirty smile.  
We had learned from experience not to attack a dock openly. Instead, each member of our crew would hop aboard a ship that was tied off at the dock and carry all of the treasure or supplies that he could onto our ship instead. The practiced crew plundered and started loaded everything onto the ship. The men were feeling particularly good about the situation because no one had seen anything. Or so we thought.  
³After them! We will put the rebels to death!² strange gruff voices shouted. The whole crew turned and looked toward the direction of the voices. A crowd of red uniforms was slowly making their way down the docks. They spread out like a sea of red ants along every ship, searching for the ³rebels.² The crew snapped into action to get away from the dock as soon as possible. Half of the crew was still on the other side of the docks doing another round of plundering though. The frustrated Captain could not leave until he at least had enough men to run his ship. The bellicose leader of the red uniforms called out to everyone working on the docks, ³Anyone seen with the pirate rebels will be immediately hung after their arrest! Let this be a warning to you all!² With a toothy smile he disappeared into an old wooden fishing boat to search for any rebels. The last half of the pirate crew were still weaving through the moored ships in order to not be seen by the uniformed men. One of them was Bill. He crouched just in time behind a sailing boat while two uniformed men walked by. Next to him was the girl that he had seen earlier in the morning. He looked at her in surprise and she stared back coolly. ³Take me onto your ship, I want to be a pirate with you.² she stated, obviously expecting him to welcome her into the family and bring her aboard. He replied back in a forced whisper, ³What!? Are you crazy!? I ain't bringing a _woman _on board!²  
She stared with deep brown eyes. ³I was expecting you to say that. So here is why you will do what I have asked of you.²  
He laughed quietly and said, ³Why will I take you with me?²  
³Because otherwise those men will suddenly hear of a pirate hiding behind a sailing boat and the location of their ship.²  
Bill¹s face paled and he gave a gruff answer, ³Fine, but we won¹t let you off again missy.² The girl gave him a cold and satisfied smile. She turned to him and said, ³You want to get back to our ship right?² He flinched at the plural use of her words but forced a whispered ³Yes.²  
³Alright, I know a way to get out of here, so follow me.² She led him into the sailing ship and through the other side by means of a window. They proceeded in this fashion until they had climbed out of a small fishing boat right next to the large pirate ship. Scrambling up the steep ramp, the rest of the crew hurried onto the ship. Barking orders, the Captain quickly made the crew get to work. As Bill helped to raise the main sail, he saw the girl climb under a pile of nets. She didn¹t flinch as she crawled under them. ³This girl is a mite tougher than I expected.² Bill thought to himself.   
  
The girl awoke early in the morning with a start. She had a dream where she was underneath the water trying to escape glowing pairs of eyes. She looked around her and realized that she was tangled in the nets and that all of the sailors were looking at her. ³So much for trying to be quiet about this. I wanted more of a stealth approach, but this will have to do.² She got up, straightened her hair, and walked into the middle of the circle of ragged pirates. Putting her hands on her hips, she calmly looked each man in the eye and asked, ³Where is your captain, I would like to speak with him.² The pirates looked at each other and shrugged. This little girl could do no harm they thought, so they grabbed her arm and led her into the back of the ship. They pushed her inside a darkened room and shut the door behind her. A man was standing there occasionally sipping a glass of black red liquid. His back was to her and he turned at the sound of the door shutting. ³Come in.² he said, sitting down in a red padded chair. He waved his hand and told her to sit as well. She slowly sat down and got right to the point. ³Sir, I would like to join your crew.² He didn¹t laugh but smiled into his glass. ³Why would I be wanting you to join the crew?² He asked gruffly. She shrugged and started her story.   
Her name was Amy. She had no parents and was raised in the local orphanage. She stayed there until the orphanage was too full to care for everyone there so they had to ship her out to the Saint Mary¹s Boarding School. She was resentful of the cards life had dealt her and she had a fiery temper that would flare at any moment. She generally hated her teachers but there was one teacher that Amy could not stand.   
Mrs. Snodbottum was the worst teacher she had ever had. Mrs. Snodbottum¹s strictness and rules made Amy sick. They had a huge ³difference² of opinions too. Amy was naturally unruly. She would walk around barefoot in pants with her hair down if she was allowed to, but Mrs. Snodbottum was one that wore her hair in a tight bun in the exact center of her head (an ancient rumor in the school was that she measured it to be sure every day to a hundredth of a centimeter. This was never proved true however.) She was very strict and was the one who proposed, when the school was founded, that it have uniforms and and that girls with long hair would not be allowed to ever have their hair down, but they would have to have it in a bun. Daily fights between these two would often end in a huge uproar and Amy being sent out of the classroom. The day of departure for the pirates was the day when Amy could not take it anymore. She got up and walked out of class and was never seen in that classroom again. She had no family ties that would bring her back home and she was stronger than she looked. Captain Sparrow considered all of this and said, ³Alright, but there is one thing that you must do to join the crew. You have to prove that you can be one of us. Pirates will need to fix damaged sails. They have to be able to climb up to the very top and fix whatever is wrong. You will have to climb to the top of the tallest sail and latch on the pirate flag in order to join us. Otherwise you¹ll hafta walk the plank mate.² He grinned and sat back, carefully watching her for any sign of fear. She got up and shook his hand. ³Thank you Sir, just watch me.² and with that she walked out onto the deck into the bright sunshine and reached the main mast. She took a deep breath and started to climb.  
  
The other pirates, on a break from their work all stare up at the climbing figure. She hops nimbly onto the mast and slowly starts going up. Her foot slips and the pirates at the bottom hiss and boo. She steels her nerves and manages to reach the halfway point. The crowd, now below, cheers on the small girl climbing up the gigantic mast. As she gets up higher and higher, the swaying of the ship is suddenly felt a lot more. She clutches on tightly as she squeezes her eyes shut for a moment to calm herself. Taking another deep breath she continues the climb. Reaching the top, she raises the flag clenched in her teeth and lets out a triumphant cheer. She scrambles down the mast and drops the last four feet onto the creaking wooden deck. The Captain steps out into the sunlight and shakes her hand. ³Welcome,² he said, ³to the crew.²  
  
Winthrop: Hi! Sorry it¹s kinda long, but I had to get the story started. The rest will be a little shorter. Well, write your reviews! 


	2. On The Black Pearl

Disclaimer: Some of these characters/places/etc. are not mine. Ha! Now you can¹t sue me. :D Another special thanks to my friend Serpentfairy who posts all my stories. Please keep up with both of my stories, it is very important that you do! I am sorry about the little numbers, I have no idea why they¹re there. Read on!  
  
... Amy smiled. Captain Sparrow beckoned her to the back of the ship into the dark gloom of his quarters. Everything went black as the door shut behind her. Suddenly, a lantern flared and the room was lit wit a soft glow. Any sat once again in the soft chairs of Captain Sparrow¹s quarters. ³Ye have proved you¹re not afraid to take on a challenge and that you¹re tougher than you look. Piracy is all about what a man can do, and what a man can¹t do. Ye must understand that I _can¹t_ have a lazy crew. And that Ye _can¹t_ get off of this ship. I _can_ let Ye work because a ship always could use a few more hands. Ye _can_ be a good girl and work very hard for me. You¹ll work with your new shipmates and you¹ll not be having any special breaks or extra rations. Just like any other lazy scalawag that¹s not been pulling his weight, you¹ll walk the plank. The whole pirate code applies to Ye and you¹ll get the same punishments and rewards as the rest of your mates. I¹m giving Ye the one choice of where your quarters will be. A storage room or with the crew.²  
  
Amy answered without blinking, ³I want to have the same quarters as my crew mates. I only want a small corner, a piece of rope and two nails. That¹s my only request.²  
  
³So we have an accord then?² The Captain replied.  
  
Amy leaned over the table, ³Aye.²  
  
The Captain smiled and blew out the lantern. Plunged into darkness again, Amy stood up and turned. The Captain threw open the door and the two stepped out into the bright light. ³One final word, I¹ll be teaching Ye nothing about being a pirate. You¹ll watch and learn from your crew mates.²  
  
Turning to his crew Captain Sparrow bellowed, ³Now men! Get to work! Ye all know what to do!² And with that, he turned and went below deck.  
  
Amy watched the crew, silently studying them. They were a filthy lot and had the grime of years layered upon their cheeks. They had ragged strips of hair, hanging limp from the damp sea air, dangling in front of their dark silent eyes. Amy scanned the crew, looking for a softened glance or a shadow of kindness on the stony faces. Only one face stood out in the meager crowd. He had the look of a strong young man but the air around him still lingered with the feeling that he was yet a boy. Their eyes met and a smile played faintly around his mouth. She returned it and started to walk toward him. She had not taken more than two steps when his smile was replaced by a frown so slight it almost didn¹t exist. He flicked his eyes around him and ever so slightly shook his head. Ah! Now she understood! He was her friend now, they both knew that, but they would need to talk later when they weren¹t in the immediate view of the others. They must become friends carefully and quietly. She would need to slowly integrate into the acceptance of the group otherwise both her and whoever she immediately befriended would be outcasts and enmity would destroy the unity between the crew mates. Amy nodded and started looking at the faces again.  
  
She had many talents and was already good at most everything she tried, but one talent stood out as her favorite and most used. She could read people¹s emotions and knew their thoughts as easily as reading a book. Her scrupulous eyes fell on one man in particular. Bill, she had heard the men call him. He was also none other than the man that had first led her to the ship. She read in his body language that something wasn¹t quite right and that he was still undecided about an issue of considerable importance. Frown lines in his forehead showed his concentration and incomprehensible mutterings revealed an inner battle. Reading the other pirates she got a little different message. There was a tense excitement that emanated from them that crackled the very air. Something held the pirates¹ attention and kept them focused on their goal. The only reluctance she read was from the boy. He would loyally follow his Captain but had a small shroud of doubt of the plan.  
  
Now she did not organize what she had read into the order I¹ve put down, her mind just absorbed the feelings she had felt was there. It was all received in such a vague, almost unconscious way, that she sometimes wasn't aware she was doing it. Taking no more than a few seconds to analyze the situation, Amy now had a slight sense that something big was going on.  
  
Later on below decks, Amy had just eaten her first meal. A slab of tough, overcooked meat and a crumbly biscuit was on the menu. The meat wasn¹t that bad to eat but the biscuit took the cake, so to speak. Each sailor took their biscuit and tapped it on the table. They had done it so many times that it was a simple habit now. After a few of the wriggling weevils had dropped out, the pirates crammed it into their mouths. Amy was definitely a little grossed out but did the same thing. She was used to bad food though, and bore it better than most would have. The old school meals had been absolutely terrible and the orphanage had had even worse ones. The little money of both were not put into their food, and sometimes, the children in the orphanage had had to beg for their meals. It wasn¹t a smartly run organization, like you would see in _Annie _or like the many wonderful places that there are todayit was a hard place to live and hardly offered anything better than living in the streets. Thinking about her previous life was not easy for Amy. She was tough on both the outside and the inside, but deep down there was a tiny shred of sadness and pity for her friendless world. Amy was snapped sharply back into reality by a large bell, struck twice. The men got up and headed down into the hold for their bunks. Looking through the portholes, Amy saw that twilight had already started to settle around the gloomy ship.  
  
A large man with huge black boots and a tattered shirt came thumping up next to Amy. She turned and stared with cool eyes. She had to keep her ground around all these men and needed to appear calm and collected every second of the day. She had to appear to be her own master. ³Yes?² she asked him.  
  
³The Captain says you¹re to be on watch Œtill midnight, with me 'n Jake. Ye¹ll have to look and learn mate, you¹re on a real pirate ship now!² the big man said, and with a haughty laugh he started for the main deck. Amy followed him, trying to learn the insides of the ship and where to go so that she wouldn¹t get lost in the belly of the infamous Black Pearl. They crawled up through the hatch and onto the main deck, breathing in the soft sea air. Velvety darkness had enveloped the ship in a thick mantle and the only light seen was given by the few lanterns slowly swinging in sync with the movement of the ship. The man with the big boots gestured that she go up to the bowsprit and take watch, looking for any ships or islands. He himself went to the other end of the boat, sinking into the gloom. Amy remembered that she was supposed to watch with Jake too. She looked around for him and her eyes came to rest on the boy that she had seen earlier. He smiled and came up to her with his hand out. ³Hi,² he said, ³I¹m Jake.²


	3. Midnight Watch

Disclaimer: Okay, some of these characters/places etc are not mine, but are in my original story with my original plot. :D If you are reading this and have not read my other story yet, you should do it right away. It is so important that you do!! Just read my bio for more info. Another thanks to Serpentfairy, for her excellent work on posting these stories! all right, go ahead and read and review!  
  
... Amy was startled. She hadn't expected the luck that she had now, being able to go on watch with one of the only people who had even seemed moderately friendly to her. Jake smiled and said in a quiet manner, "Don't actually go on watch all the way out on the bowsprit. It's aye a little joke on the ship to make a new mate climb all the way out to the tip, especially if they've not much experience on ships like these, and watch me get dipped in the water a few times. It does make a man laugh though, watching a new crew mate go under and come up spluttering." With that he gave a little chuckle, as if remembering some previous experience, before going on. "Where he be really wanting ye to go, is just right here, on the Forecastle Deck."  
  
Amy was confused, she hadn't been on the ship more than a day and already the men were throwing out pirate terms left and right. "Where is the bowsprit anyway? And what's the Forecastle Deck?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.  
  
Jake gave her a quizzical look, "You mean you've no experience on a ship like this?" In a way he seemed almost offended when Amy shook her head no. "Okay," he replied, exasperated, "Here's what you've got to remember. The long piece of wood sticking out on the front is the bowsprit. It holds out the farthest sail the Flying Jib, then next the Jib, and finally the Fore Stay Sail. Above those sails is the Fore Topsail on the Fore Topmast. Under that would be the Fore Mast, on which hangs the Fore Sail-"  
  
"Okay! Okay! Just stop!" Amy cried, with a hint of humor, but thoroughly frustrated. "This is my first day on the ship, don't kill me with terms! I changed my mind, I _don't_ want to do this right now. I'll learn, just not at the moment. You pirates always have to complicate things!"  
  
Jake grinned, 'Aye, we have lots of names for things. But it weren't as if it was different from the slang names you landlubbers have!"  
  
Amy grinned back she was thrilled. She had found one of the only civil people on the Black Pearl and had already made him a friend. They were joking, talking, and laughing like they had known each other for years. Their conversation did remind Amy though, that there was a constant danger of being overheard. Every few sentences, Jake would look around him, paranoid now of his fellow crewmates. Their conversation lasted long into the night, for they were on watch for five hours and it had been about ten when they had come on deck. Amy had told her story and asked Jake about how he came to be on the Black Pearl with such a rough crew. Jake grimaced and started his story...  
  
"I'd been a good kid. I had listened to my parents and been a good little boy. But when I started getting into the teenage years, I had started to rebel. Everything my parents said seemed out of date and old fashioned. I thought that they hadn't lived in my era, and the rules they had when they were teens didn't apply to me. I thought that they hadn't understood what I was going through and that they didn't care. So I ran away when I was sixteen. And I've been on the Black Pearl ever since." Jake shrugged and looked away. Amy studied him for a moment, and started to use her ability to read people. She knew he wasn't telling her the whole truth, and that he had something to hide from her, or something he didn't want to talk about. You don't just get on to the infamous Black Pearl by accident. There had to be something else going on. Jake looked back at her and asked what was the matter.  
  
"Oh nothing. It's just that you're not telling me the whole truth here, and while I've been completely honest with you, you haven't been with me. That story is full of holes and has about thirty missing pieces in it. You're hiding something, and I don't think that's a wise choice for you. Especially when dealing with me." Amy had known what kind of a reaction this threat would command from Jake. He bristled and went into defense mode.  
  
"My mom and dad were pirates, okay! That's not something I want to admit! They weren't the best people in the world, and it's not good to tell every person about the things they've done! They had connections and knew Captain Sparrow and I've been a pirate all my life!! There is no story to tell, and I'm not hiding anything," he snarled, inching closer to her face.  
  
Amy was quick with her retort, "Well, if your story is true, then why have you slipped back into normal speech? And if you've been a pirate all your life, then already you admit lying to me because your original story said that you had run away. Your pirate accident has vanished as we've been talking. If you've been a pirate all your life then your accent wouldn't have changed a bit!" She smiled at his silence and his mouth opening and closing like a fish.  
  
"Aargh! You know what!? Fine! You can have your little victory here. I'm done." and with that, he walked away. Amy felt a little saddened by this. Now, she had no friends and at least one enemy. She knew that he would have defended his story, but not ended the conversation like he had. He had been much too sensitive, and that was a major sign that he was lying. But if he was hiding things from her and not being honest then he wasn't much of a friend to begin with. _But, _her mind argued,_ you had just met! There are things you haven't told him either. _Yeah, she argued back, but they weren't major things, like how he came to be on the ship. _Just give him another chance; maybe you got off on the wrong foot... _No, she thought, I can't risk that here. _But he might prove to be a valuable ally, and a good strong friend when you need one. You aren't totally self-dependent from people. _No, she thought, definitely no second chances._  
_  
Amy still had decided to not give him another chance, but with this little argue in her head going on, she was less firm in her resolve. She decided to drop the issue for now and think about what to do later. As for the time, it was time to go to her bunk now and get some sleep for the next day. A big man with a stump of an arm came to relieve her and she gladly went below deck to sleep. She arrived at her hammock and closed her curtain. She had made a little room for herself when she first came on the ship. The captain had given her a standard issue blanket and hammock, and she strung the piece of rope she had asked for between two nails and hung an extra blanket over the rope to make a private area for her when she dressed and slept. As the hammock swung slowly with the movement of the ship, Amy thought back to the argument between her and Jake. She could have been nicer to him, but it couldn't be helped now. Maybe he knew something she hadn't about why they were on the ship. It was obvious that he hadn't been a sailor for long, and that she herself was a girl. They were both about in their teens and came from a place where no family even existed or would look for them. These coincidences troubled Amy, as her intuition said that something felt wrong about that situation. Her logical mind then lulled her into a sense of security with the comfort that she could handle anything the pirates threw her way, and that if they had wanted to kill her or something, they already would have done it. She fell asleep to the swaying of the seas, on her way to an unknown destination...


End file.
